Lunchtime Lecture Club

To coincide with Remembrance Day, myself and Carol Tanner will be giving November’s Lunchtime Club Lecture.  We will be talking about the project, the work of the volunteers and the records I have been cataloguing.

It will take place from 12:30pm – 1:30pm Tuesday 13 November in the lecture theatre at the History Centre, come along, admission is free.

More information about the Lunchtime Club can be found on the History Centre website:
http://www.hullhistorycentre.org.uk/discover/hull_history_centre/whats_on/lunchtime_club.aspx

Food, Glorious Food

Not only did the men of Hull give their time to their own city, they also gave it to London.  In 1944 the wardens in London had been under such duress and all annual leave had been cancelled.  A call was made for assistance from other cities and Hull, having great experience, stepped forward.  Some went for just a few weeks, other went until their services were no longer needed.

In the records of the Warden Service, I have found copies of letters written by some of the men who went to London sent to members of the Warden Service back in Hull, letting them know how things were.  One of the biggest causes of excitement seems to be the food allowances!

J Longford, 19 August

“We arrived at our Depot about 5-10pm and after a clean up we were directed to the recreation hall where a long table was set out with plenty of plates full of tomatoes, cold potatoes, Russian Salad, and a liberal supply of ham, with a pudding to follow.  The Chief Warden was there, but like a sensible fellow he said tuck in and I will formally welcome you after the meal.”

On 20 August, he goes on to write,

“We were told that we obtain our tea at the Post, and supper at approx 8-30pm. at the Depot.  Mark those words well my noble William, those four words TEA AT THE POST.  I was mystified about this, but boy did I get a shock.  My co-full timer said ‘What would you like for tea?’ Well, being a polite sort of cove I gave a conventional reply, of I’ll have what you say.  Well, he got the tea ready.  A tin of salmon between the two of us, (it could have been tinned meat, sardines, herrings, corned beef) plenty of bread and margarine, jam and a slab of fruit cake which would not have gone in my haversack.  Of course I had been told during the morning that all posts were supplied with rations, but boy what rations.”

F. E. Baskerville, 20 August

“I have a permit for 1½ lbs. of tea, 3 lbs. of sugar and 20 pints of milk per week.  The Police Inspector, who is also the Chief Warden, gets this for me and I settle with him every Saturday.  We have an electric boiler in our billet and so we can make a cup of tea any time we like.  We have been issued with three teapots.” 

Veterans’ Weekend

We will be attending the Veterans’ Weekend at East Park with an exhibition about the Warden Service that will be on display 28-29^th July.  On Saturday 28^th only there will be pictures for sale and staff on hand to answer questions about the collection and the project.

Details for the Veterans Weekend, including a timetable of events can be found here:

http://search3.openobjects.com/kb5/hull/events/event.page?record=sCF1-LAdtaA

With the volunteer sessions now well under way BBC Radio Humberside came to the History Centre talk to us for a follow up piece on the 16^th July.  There are now over 8000 personnel cards numbered and over 1500 entries in the database.  We hope to start making this data available to the public towards Christmas.

A Hub of Activity

The volunteer sessions are now underway.  We have had 40 of our 80 volunteers come in so far and they have numbered nearly 3000 personnel cards and input over 500 of these onto our database (not yet live). 

Cloths and brushes are also out with preservation work having begun.  We have recently identified another series of records, still in their original boxes, that are prime candidates for this.



During the second volunteer session, the Hull Daily Mail paid a visit to the History Centre and produced a very positive piece about the project that can be found here:

http://www.thisishullandeastriding.co.uk/Meet-volunteers-trawling-Hull-s-Second-World-War/story-16375931-detail/story.html

Logistical Operations

The logistics of the volunteer organisation is about done and the teams have been organised.  Due to the response, there will be eight teams, two a week, operating on a monthly timetable.

Letters will be going out this week with details and dates of which group you’re in and when you will be starting.

We look forward to getting things underway after the Jubilee week.